STONY BROOK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — A grisly murder in the Washington D.C. area has cast a shadow across Long Island. A young woman who was once a star athlete at Stony Brook University is suspected of killing her co-worker.

She was a standout soccer player at Stony Brook, but 28-year-old Brittany Norwood is now an accused murderer. She is trial for the brutal bludgeoning death of a co-worker at a suburban Washington yoga store, reports CBS 2’s Derricke Dennis.

“It was very important for the state to detail and outline what we call our public safety concerns,” prosecutor John McCarthy said.

McCarthy was referring to alleged violence and an apparent cover-up that ended in the death of victim Jayna Murray. Police said Murray confronted Norwood after catching her with store clothing in her bag.

Investigators said Norwood left and Murray called her manager. Norwood later returned, claiming she left her wallet. That’s when police say she beat Murray in the head over and over again, crushed her skull and tied something around her neck so tightly it severed her spine.

Then, police said, Norwood slashed her own body, and using her teeth, tied herself up with zip ties, to make it look like she was a victim.

Outside court Wednesday, Murray’s heartbroken parents hugged and cried. And at the store, shoppers remembered both women, Murray the victim and Norwood the accused.

“And they’re so young and that’s the sad part,” one patron said.

“It’s just … I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s just a tragedy,” another patron said.

Norwood is still listed in the athletic records at Stony Brook. Her status as a star soccer player has been tarnished by a first-degree murder charge. If convicted, Norwood faces life in prison, without parole.